FIRST BLIZZARD OF 2016 PUMMELS EAST COAST - CHARLOTTE TOO

@Blizzard2016

FIRST BLIZZARD OF 2016 PUMMELS EAST COAST - CHARLOTTE TOO:

STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED.

MORE SNOW, ICY ROADS & POWER OUTAGES

PLEASE STAY HOME.


~ More Sleet, Snow Expected For Charlotte Region

The first winter storm of the season left icy roads across the Charlotte region Friday, and forecasters said several more rounds of snow and sleet are expected before the precipitation comes to an end Saturday.

If there was a bright spot to the storm, which is expected to turn into a raging blizzard farther up the East Coast, it was that Charlotte appeared to escape the heavy freezing rain that meteorologists had feared.

Instead, the heaviest freezing rain as of Friday afternoon fell in the South Carolina Upstate and to the east in the North Carolina Sandhills.

Duke Energy, which had recruited more than 1,000 out-of-state utility workers for possible line repairs, reported at mid-afternoon that there were about 30,000 power outages in the Carolinas.

Nearly half those – about 13,000 – were in Greenville County, S.C.

Instead, Charlotte-area residents dealt with heavy sleet and, farther to the northwest, several inches of snow.

The National Weather Service says the winter storm warning for Charlotte will extend until 7 p.m. Saturday. Sleet and some freezing rain are expected to continue in the region Friday afternoon and evening, but the precipitation is forecast to change to snow in the early-morning hours Saturday.

The Weather Service’s computer guidance indicated a band of heavy snow could form early Saturday in the Piedmont and Foothills, perhaps bringing 2 or 3 inches to parts of the Charlotte area.

Clearing is forecast Saturday evening, and the weather is expected to be clear and cold Sunday for the Panthers-Cardinals NFC Championship Game in Charlotte.

Meteorologists had warned that a half-inch of ice could accumulate in Charlotte – enough to cause major problems with downed tree limbs and power lines. Instead, it was mostly sleet that fell from the bands of precipitation that moved across the region during the day.

Sleet does not create power outage problems but is a major headache for road crews.

Local and state officials urged area residents to remain on guard, despite the several hours of precipitation-free conditions that developed late Friday morning.

“The big message here is it continues to be a fluid situation,” Charlotte City Manager Ron Carlee said. “We’re in a lull. As it’s been suggested, we’re in halftime. But the second half could be worse, and it could go into overtime.”

Gov. Pat McCrory said in a news conference in Raleigh, “Now is not the time to let down your guard.”

The precipitation began, as expected, shortly before midnight Thursday evening as rain. It changed to sleet a few hours later in Charlotte, coating the streets with a layer of congealed ice pellets.

To the north and northwest, the precipitation fell as snow. The National Weather Service said it received several reports of 8 inches or more in and around Asheville, and there were widespread reports of 4-7 inches along the Interstate 40 corridor.

Col. William Grey, head of the N.C. Highway Patrol, said troopers helped 100 motorists get their stranded vehicles off roads Friday morning. The Highway Patrol responded to 571 collisions through Friday morning and 800 calls for service.

Hickory police were investigating a fatal crash that might have been weather-related. Police said one person was killed when a car went off a roadway in the early-morning hours. Snow was falling at the time.

“We strongly encourage everyone not to travel unless absolutely necessary,” Grey said.

Charlotte Department of Transportation director Danny Pleasant said 72 crew members, divvied among 36 trucks, were working 12-hour shifts to cover area roads with salt and brine.

Duke Energy had called in 2,800 crew members from Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Oklahoma and Texas to help manage outages in the Carolinas, said district manager Tim Gause. “The full impact of the storm system is unknown at this time, but I want you to be prepared,” he said.

American Airlines canceled all flights in and out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Friday.

The airline operates more than 90 percent of the daily flights in Charlotte, so air travel to and from the city was largely stopped until Saturday morning, when American plans to resume air service from the city.

Flights were also canceled Friday for Delta, United, Southwest, Lufthansa, Air Canada, ViaAir and JetBlue.

Schools across the region canceled classes, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools announced that SAT testing scheduled for Saturday would not take place.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame’s induction dinner and ceremony scheduled for Friday evening was postponed until 1 p.m. Saturday, said executive director Winston Kelley.

Charlotte area postal officials suspended mail collection from the family blue collection boxes Friday.

Mail delivery was suspended Friday for customers in ZIP codes beginning with 280, 281, 282, 287, 288 and 297.
Retail services also were suspended.


Sources: NBC News, Charlotte Observer, National Weather Service

Polar VORTEX Winter Hits United States: Coldest Winter In Decades!

ARTICLE: "Historic & Life-Threatening' Freeze Brings Rare Danger Warning"


On Monday morning, Nashville was 40 degrees colder than Albany, New York. Memphis, Tennessee, was 20 degrees colder than Anchorage, Alaska. And Atlanta was colder than Moscow.

But the U.S. South was downright balmy compared to the Great Lakes region, where temperatures hovered in the negative 20s -- before wind chill, which dropped temps to the negative 50s, making it very dangerous to go outside.

The bitter cold that a "polar vortex" is pushing into much of the United States is not just another winter storm. It's the coldest in 20 years in many areas, and breaking some records.

More than 3,500 flights nationwide were canceled by noon ET Monday, according to flightaware.com.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn declared a statewide disaster and activated the Illinois National Guard to help provide aid.

While the current weather patterns gave the Northeast a bit of a reprieve, it's in for a brutal drop as the arctic air works its way east. New York, where it was about 50 degrees with wind chill Monday morning, could go as low as minus 7 on Tuesday, said CNN meteorologist Indra Petersons. The region could face a 60-degree temperature change in a single day.

The temperature spread within the United States is a stunning 130 degrees, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said, with wind chill putting northern Minnesota at 60 below zero, while Key West, Florida, basks in its dreamy 70 degrees. Much of the West can also expect relatively pleasant weather through Tuesday.

But from Minneapolis to Chicago to Milwaukee, people are under health warnings to stay indoors. Many schools have closed.

"Skin freezes in just five minutes with a wind chill of minus 50," said HLN meteorologist Bob Van Dillen.

Frostbite occurs in 10 minutes with wind chills of minus 35, Hennen added.

Over the past week, at least 13 people have died of weather-related causes. Eleven people died in road accidents; one man in Wisconsin died of hypothermia, and an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease who wandered away from her home in New York state was found dead in the snow in a wooded area about 100 yards away.

Rare warning

In a very rare move, Minneapolis issued a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" warning about the "historic and life-threatening cold." Such warnings are typically issued for tornadoes, said Petersons.

The National Weather Service adopted the Twitter hashtag "#Chiberia" for Chicago, where temperatures were at 14 below zero. (Parts of the vast Siberian region, such as Tobolsk, had Fahrenheit temps in the low teens Monday, though other parts had temperatures of 50 below zero.)

Some of the greatest concern surrounds the tens of thousands of Midwesterners without electricity.

More than 15,000 customers in Indiana, 6,800 in Illinois and 2,200 in Missouri didn't have power overnight, according to utility companies.

Chicago opened up 12 centers for residents to seek warmth, one of which was to stay open all night through Tuesday.

Libraries and some other city facilities would also be open, said Evelyn Diaz of the city's Department of Family and Support Services.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said 100 warming centers were open statewide.


Source: CNN

BILL DE BLASIO Shovels His Own Snow After Brutal Blizzard Strikes The Northeast (A Man Of The People)

#BillDeBlasioNYC

It's a welcome change to see NYC Mayor BILL DE BLASIO Shoveling his own snow during this Brutal Blizzard which has almost Paralyzed the Northeast.

I can assure you MICHAEL BLOOMBERG has NEVER shoveled snow!

At least NOT while he was Mayor of NYC.

BILL DE BLASIO is truly a Man of THE PEOPLE!

I will continue to Pray GOD'S Blessings on this Man....his Family....and his Administration daily.





"Blizzard Blasts Northeast With Snow, Wind And Bitter Cold"


The heavy snow falling along much of the mid-Atlantic Coast into New England is expected to taper off Friday as a nor'easter heads into Canada, leaving bitter cold in its wake, the National Weather Service said.

By early morning, the snowfall was nearly finished in the nation's capital; it was expected to stop by late morning in New York City, where 6 inches were covering Central Park, and by early afternoon in Boston, which got socked by nearly 15 inches.

North of Boston, residents of Topsfield, Massachusetts, got nearly 2 feet of snow.

The combination of cold and winds gusting more than 30 mph was expected to lower wind chill temperatures to less than 10 degrees over the mid-Atlantic and into the teens in New England.

And not just the Northeast will be hit, forecasters said.

About one-third of the nation -- approximately 100 million people in 22 states -- is in the path of this storm.

Snow was also predicted from the Upper Midwest into the Great Lakes, with as much as 8 inches expected in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and additional snow possible along a cold front that extends through the Midwest and into the Central Plains, the service said.

Across the country, the weather has snarled travel plans for many.

FlightAware.com, which tracks cancellations due to weather and mechanical problems, said more than 2,000 flights had been canceled for Friday within, into or out of the United States. That's after more than 2,600 U.S. flights were canceled Thursday.

Flights were expected to resume later Friday in much of New England, though delays were predicted at some airports. Ticket holders were urged to check with their airlines.

Barb Plooster had planned to fly Friday from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Grand Rapids, Michigan, but her flight was canceled. She told CNN affiliate WICU that she was on the phone with United Airlines for five hours trying to find a way to get home but has concluded that she will have to wait until Monday. "We got a warm place to stay, get to visit the kids, the grandkids, so it's OK," she said.

Here's a breakdown of what to expect where:

New York and Long Island

A winter storm warning was to remain in effect across the five boroughs until 1 p.m., with wind gusts dropping wind chills to as low as 15 below, the mayor's office said.

"This has been and remains a dangerous storm," newly sworn-in Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday in a prepared statement. "The best things people can do are to stay off the roads so we can clear them as fast as possible, and to check in on elderly and vulnerable neighbors who might need help this morning."

New York City had gotten nearly 10 inches of snow by the time it abated late Friday morning, de Blasio told reporters. "It's hard to drive out there," he said. "If you do not need to travel today, please stay home."

Sanitation workers were on 12-hour shifts to clear the city's 6,200 miles of roadways, he said.

Long Island will be under a blizzard warning until 1 p.m. Friday, with wind chills as low as 10 below zero and sustained winds of at least 35 mph.

Flight operations resumed late Friday morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport; they were continuing -- despite hundreds of cancellations -- at LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Temperatures in the single digits were predicted for Saturday morning.

New York City public schools were closed Friday.

Upstate, the capital city of Albany could get buried under 14 inches of snow, with wind chills of 15 to 25 below zero, the National Weather Service said.

The weather had its fans. In Rochester, New York, CNN iReporter Blake Sampson, 29, took a picture from his apartment window. "I grew up in Minnesota, so I'm used to it," he said. "I like how quiet things get when there is a fresh blanket of snow."

Massachusetts

That blanket covered Boston, which expected to see 10 to 18 inches of snow and temperatures as low as 6 degrees below zero by Friday night.

But limited flights were continuing into and out of Boston's Logan Airport.

The state's emergency management agency predicted up to 2 feet of snow on parts of the North Shore, South Shore and Cape Cod.

Students in scores of school districts were told to stay home Friday.

"I guess Mother Nature wanted to give me one more gift," Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said Thursday, one of his last days in the office he has held since 1993.

Blizzard warnings were in effect for parts of nearby Essex and Plymouth counties -- including the communities of Gloucester, Brockton and Plymouth -- as well as Cape Cod.

The state warned that midday high tides could produce "significant flooding" along the coast. The towns of Scituate and Duxbury requested voluntary evacuations of certain low-lying areas.

Connecticut and Delaware

Wind chills in parts of Connecticut were expected to range from -5 to -20 degrees Friday, and the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for most of the state through Friday morning.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy urged residents to take it slow and give themselves extra time for their commutes Friday. He said he expects delays but not cancellations in public transit.

Delaware said state offices were closed for all but "essential employees."

Chicago and points beyond

In the Windy City, wind chills Friday will creep down to minus 12, with more snow possible over the weekend.

The arctic blast was expected to be the coldest in 17 years, with temperatures predicted to drop below zero Sunday evening and not return to positive digits until Wednesday.

Though snow in Chicago in the winter is a common event, it "can still wreak havoc on daily routines," city emergency director Gary Schenkel said.

Next week could be no better for some U.S. residents.

A new shot of colder air will start to move into the northern Midwest by Saturday and will dive south Monday and Tuesday, carrying zero-degree cold as far south as Nashville. "That's the coldest air we've seen that far south in several years," CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

The cold air will kick off a new storm Sunday into Monday that could affect a number of NFL playoff games this weekend. In Wisconsin, the Green Bay Packers will give a cold welcome to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, when temperatures could bottom out at -17.

The U.S. weather had international implications, too: All meetings were canceled Friday at the United Nations headquarters complex on New York's East Side.


Sources: CNN; USA Today, Youtube

Where's Al Gore? Iceland's Volcano & China's Quake, Apocalypse Or Climate Change?

Where's Al Gore??

Earthquakes in Chile, China & Haiti, the Worse U.S. Winter in decades, Tsunamis in Hawaii & Taiwan and now Iceland's Volcanic Eruptions all in less than a year's time.

Are these regular "Natural Disasters", signs of "Climate Change" or "End of the World" warnings to Mankind?

Its definitely something to think about.

By the way has anyone seen Al Gore lately?

Perhaps he can enlighten us as to what's happening with this weird weather.

Check out the videos and article about these catastrophes below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Europe Faces More Air Travel Chaos


Thick drifts of volcanic ash blanketed parts of rural Iceland on Friday as a vast, invisible plume of grit drifted over Europe, emptying the skies of planes and sending hundreds of thousands in search of hotel rooms, train tickets or rental cars.

Polish officials worried that the ash cloud could threaten the arrival of world leaders for Sunday's state funeral for President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, in the southern city of Krakow.

So far, President Barack Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among those coming and no one has canceled. Kaczynski's family insisted Friday they wanted the funeral to go forward as planned but there was no denying the ash cloud was moving south and east.

The air traffic agency Eurocontrol said almost two-thirds of Europe's flights were canceled Friday, as air space remained largely closed in Britain and across large chunks of north and central Europe.

"The skies are totally empty over northern Europe," said Brian Flynn, deputy head of Eurocontrol, adding "there will be some significant disruption of European air traffic tomorrow."

Air travel grounded

The agency said about 16,000 of Europe's usual 28,000 daily flights were canceled Friday — twice as many as were canceled a day earlier. Only about 120 trans-Atlantic flights reached European airports compared to 300 on a normal day, and about 60 flights between Asia and Europe were canceled.

The International Air Transport Association said the volcano was costing the industry at least $200 million a day.

Southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier began erupting for the second time in a month on Wednesday, sending ash several miles into the air. Winds pushed the plume south and east across Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and into the heart of Europe.

Gray ash settled in drifts near the glacier, swirling in the air and turning day into night. Authorities told people in the area with respiratory problems to stay indoors, and advised everyone to wear masks and protective goggles outside.

In major European cities, travel chaos reigned. Extra trains were put on in Amsterdam and lines to buy train tickets were so long that the rail company handed out free coffee.

Train operator Eurostar said it was carrying almost 50,000 passengers between London, Paris and Brussels. Thalys, a high-speed venture of the French, Belgian and German rail companies, was allowing passengers to buy tickets even if trains were fully booked.

London taxi company Addison Lee said it had received requests for journeys to cities as far away as Paris, Milan, Amsterdam and Zurich.

The disruptions hit tourists, business travelers and dignitaries alike.

Germany's Merkel had to go to Portugal rather than Berlin as she flew home from a U.S. visit. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg managed to get a flight to Madrid from New York but was still not sure when or how he would get back home.

Shift in tactics

The military also had to adjust. Five German soldiers wounded in Afghanistan were diverted to Turkey instead of Germany, while U.S. medical evacuations for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are being flown directly from the warfronts to Washington rather than to a care facility in Germany. The U.S. military has also stopped using temporarily closed air bases in the U.K. and Germany.

Aviation experts said it was among the worst disruptions Europe has ever seen.

"We don't have many volcanoes in Europe," said David Learmount of Flight International, an aviation publication. "The wind was blowing in the wrong direction."

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Ice, fire

In Iceland, torrents of water carried away chunks of ice the size of small houses on Thursday as hot gases melted the glacier over the volcano. Sections of the country's main ring road were wiped out by the flash floods.

More floods from melting waters are expected as long as the volcano keeps erupting — and in 1821, the same volcano managed to erupt for more than a year.

Small amounts of ash settled in northern Scotland and Norway, but officials said it posed little threat to health.

But Europeans were urged to stay indoors if ash started to rain down from the sky, the World Health Organization said on Friday. WHO spokesman David Epstein said the microscopic ash was potentially dangerous for people if it started to "settle" on the earth because inhaled particles can reach the lungs and cause respiratory problems.

The ash cloud, drifting between 20,000 to 30,000 feet high and invisible from the ground, initially blocked the main air flight path between the U.S. east coast and Europe. On Friday, the cloud's trajectory was taking it over northern France and Austria and into eastern and central Russia at about 25 mph.

Fearing that microscopic particles of highly abrasive ash could endanger passengers by causing aircraft engines to fail, authorities shut down air space over Britain, Ireland, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Belgium. That halted flights at Europe's two busiest airports — Heathrow in London and Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris — as well as dozens of other airports, 25 in France alone.

Air space restrictions were lifted, imposed or extended Friday as the cloud moved.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Flights were suspended at Frankfurt airport, Europe's third-busiest terminal, and at other German airports including Duesseldorf, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne.

Irish aviation authorities reopened airports in Dublin and Cork and France allowed some planes to land in Paris. Sweden and Norway declared skies in the far north to be safe but kept a lockdown on flights to both capitals — Stockholm and Oslo.

Britain's National Air Traffic Service said the air over England would remain closed to flights until at least 7 a.m. (0600 GMT, 2 a.m. EDT) Saturday, although some flights were being allowed in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Switzerland, Slovakia, Croatia and Hungary closed their airspace, and Poland expanded its no-fly zone to most of the country, excluding Krakow. Belgium extended its flight restrictions until late Saturday morning.

Iceland, a nation of 320,000 people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge and has a history of devastating eruptions. One of the worst was the 1783 eruption of the Laki volcano, which spewed a toxic cloud over Europe, killing tens of thousands.


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Sources: CBS News, CNN, Digital Art, Freaking News, MSNBC, Youtube, Google Maps

Northeast Hit By Another Snowstorm; 700,000 Lose Power

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700,000 Lose Power As Storm Slams Northeast


A windy winter storm has knocked out power to at least 700,000 homes and businesses in the Northeast, fanned a hotel fire in coastal New Hampshire, and disrupted travel.

In New Hampshire, even the state Emergency Operations Center was operating on a generator. A wind gust of more than 90 mph was reported in the state.

Officials are also blaming the wind for fanning a hotel fire in Hampton, N.H., and destroying an entire block of businesses.

Rain and flooding are the big problems in northern New England. Farther south, snow is clogging roads and airport runways. Thousands of flights have been canceled.

New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has decided to give the nation's largest public school district a rare snow day after 17 inches fell there.

NBC News reported the National Weather Service measured 9.4 inches of snow in Central Park on Thursday. That breaks the 7.5 inches recorded in 1874.

From Pennsylvania to Maine
The strongest wind and heaviest snow was forecast for late Thursday and early Friday, with a foot or more of snow and high winds expected in parts of Pennsylvania, into New Jersey and New York and up to parts of New England.

Parts of western Maine received nearly a foot a snow, while Philadelphia received a dusting. About 9 inches of snow fell in New York City, where a man was killed by a falling snow-laden tree branch in Central Park — one of at least three deaths being blamed on the storm.

In parts of southern and mid-coastal Maine more than 3 inches of rain had fallen and forecasters say some areas could get more than 7 inches. The Presumpscot River in Westbrook was expected to crest at 9 feet over flood stage by Friday afternoon. The river in the flood-prone New Hampshire town of Goffstown was nearing flood stage and residents were told to prepare for possible evacuation.

Hundreds of flights were canceled at major East Coast airports.

The latest blast of winter was expected to linger more than 24 hours, meaning more headaches Friday. More snow is predicted for much of the region Saturday, too.

The National Weather Service put much of the East Coast under wind advisories and warnings until 7 a.m. Friday. The agency warned that winds could blow steadily between 20 and 30 mph in some areas, with gusts of 55 mph or higher in coastal and mountainous areas.

Even coastal New England, which was seeing rain but nothing like the 18 inches of snow expected in some parts of northern New Jersey and upstate New York, was under coastal flood watches.

While forecasters can predict the snow totals and what that will mean — slippery roads, a snow day for the kids — it's trickier to know whether winds might create havoc.

"Your tree may fall down; your neighbor's may not," said Kristina Pydynowski, a meteorologist for AccuWeather, a private forecasting company in State College, Pa.

She said dense, wet snow weighing down trees would make it more likely for strong winds to knock them down. And power will probably be hardest to restore in areas where heavy snow keeps repair crews at bay.

* In upstate New York, a storm that hit the area with up to 2 feet of snow Wednesday left some 150,000 homes and businesses without power. About 49,000 utility customers remained without power late Thursday, most in the Hudson Valley.

* Vermont had more than 10,000 outages. Nearly 4,900 utility customers in New Jersey were without electricity and there were about 2,000 customers without power throughout Pennsylvania.

* Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jack Lewis said National Guard forces rescued dozens of high school students on a ski trip in Susquehanna County in northeastern Pennsylvania when their buses got stuck on Route 374. The 70 students and chaperones were taken to a Red Cross center in Uniondale, and no injuries were reported.

* The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation banned motorcycles, recreation vehicles and commercial traffic on interstates 380 and 84 — with the exceptions of school buses and tow trucks responding to accidents. There was also a tractor-trailer ban on the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Northeast Extension.


Jackknifed truck

After dropping his load of New York City trash at a landfill in Seneca Falls, N.Y., truck driver Carlos Quintero, 62, was heading back to the city on Interstate 380 in northeastern Pennsylvania when he lost control of his rig and it jackknifed.

For a few heart-stopping moments, Quintero thought he was going to plunge down a steep, 30-foot embankment. But the guardrail had just enough stopping power.

"I thought I go all the way down the hill," said Quintero, of Haddonfield, N.J. "It happened so fast I can't do nothing."

Traffic backed up for several miles as crews worked to free the big rig. The highway reopened after about 90 minutes.

Some road conditions worsened Thursday night. Trucks got stuck on Interstate 81 near Scranton, Pa., and part of Interstate 84 was closed at the Pennsylvania-New York state line due to a jackknifed tractor-trailer. In New Jersey, dozens of accidents were reported and speeds limits were reduced.


Flood fears

Parts of western Maine received nearly a foot a snow, while southern and mid-coastal sections of the state received more than 3 inches of rain and faced up to 7 more inches. The Presumpscot River in Westbrook was expected to crest at 9 feet over flood stage by Friday afternoon.

Several major roads were closed in the flood-prone New Hampshire town of Goffstown, police said, and slight flooding along the Piscataquog River had water creeping toward nearby houses. Residents were told to prepare for possible evacuation.


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Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps

D.C.'s Blizzard Troubles Not Over Yet, Another Storm Brewing

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East Coast Digs Out From Record-Breaking Snow


Utility crews rumbled along icy roads working to restore power to more than 150,000 customers from Virginia to New Jersey as some airports resumed operations on Thursday, a day after a blizzard smothered the East Coast in record snowfalls.

Many schools systems in the path of the storm remained closed for a second day, including in Baltimore and Philadelphia, although New York City school children headed back to class after only their third snow day in six years.

In Washington, D.C., the federal government was closed for a fourth straight day. The nation's capital joined Philadelphia and Baltimore in logging their snowiest winters in history.

The latest storm dumped nearly 16 inches in Philadelphia, about 20 inches in central New Jersey, and totals ranged from 10 to 16 inches around New York City.

Yue-Chung Siu, 25, got up early to be at work at his family's bagel store in Philadelphia by 5:30 a.m. Thursday. He said his normal 30 minute commute from Bensalem turned into an hour and 45 minutes because of detours and poorly plowed roads.

He recalled the record-breaking blizzard of January 1996.

"I was a little kid, so I had a lot of fun," Siu said. "Now, it's like half-fun, half-hassle."

The storm had halted flights throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, but by Thursday morning flights began to arrive at Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. Both of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport's two main runways reopened, but officials warned that flight cancellations would continue through the morning because of the storm.

One primary runway was open at Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday morning and a second should open by 9 a.m., said airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica.

Crews have been working to clear runways and taxiways around the clock and airlines are resuming limited schedules of flights in and out of Philadelphia.

Officials expect the airlines to cancel some scheduled flights but conditions are fine for flying in Philadelphia, Lupica said.

In Philadelphia, road crews worked to clear Interstate 76 and I-676, which closed Wednesday to leave the city of 1.5 million residents with only one usable major artery. Authorities reopened the two routes Thursday morning.

The D.C. Department of Transportation urged motorists to stay off city streets Thursday morning to keep them clear for emergency response, tree and road crews.

Emergency officials in eastern Pennsylvania reported more than 200 vehicles, mostly trucks, were stranded Wednesday along I-78. Officials said gasoline, food and water were delivered to the stranded drivers before plows could clear paths for them by midnight, but the roadway remained closed on Thursday.

In northeast Maryland, staffers at the Harford County Emergency Operations Center fielded several calls per minute from residents struggling to meet the financial demands of a second snowstorm just days after the first. One woman called to say she couldn't afford to stay at her motel another night and was about to be evicted. Homeless shelters were full, forcing the county to pay for motel rooms for some people.

"We really can't have people pushed out into the snow," said Scott Gibson, the county's director of human resources. "The motels are our second line of defense."

Electric crews in New Jersey were working to restore power to about 46,000 homes and businesses that lost electricity. NJ Transit agency resumed bus routes Thursday morning and opened nearly all train stations so residents could try to get to work.

For many families, the first storm was a fun weekend diversion. People even went skiing past Washington's monuments. But Wednesday's blizzard quickly became a serious safety concern. The Pennsylvania governor shut down some highways and warned that people who drove were risking their lives.

As of Wednesday, Baltimore had 72.3 inches so far this winter, the Washington area had 54.9 inches and Philadelphia had 70.3 inches. The previous records for snowiest winters were 62.5 inches in Baltimore in 1995-96; 54.4 inches in Washington in 1898-99; and 65.5 inches in Philadelphia in 1995-96.

More than 100,000 utility customers in Pennsylvania were without power. Some never got it back after the last storm. More than 11,000 customers in Virginia were still in the dark.

But the news wasn't all bad. Washington has not had a homicide in a week. Ski areas were doing brisk business, when people could get to them. And private contractors were making money plowing driveways and parking lots.


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Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps

Worst East Coast Blizzard In Decades! Flights Cancelled

Heavy Snowfall Batters East Coast Again


Heavy snowfall pummeled much of the East Coast on Wednesday, battering states for the second time in a week and forcing many people to stay home from school and jobs.

The snowfall canceled or delayed flights, kept federal workers home for a third day in Washington and taxed local government budgets as municipalities scrambled to pay for snow removal, overtime, salt, supplies and equipment.

Blizzard warnings stretched from New York to the Carolinas on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

A warning was issued for metro Washington; Baltimore, Maryland; Newark and Atlantic City, New Jersey; Dover, Delaware; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York City; Long Island, New York; and as far south as the southern Appalachian Mountains, including Asheville, North Carolina.

Under a blizzard warning, the following conditions are expected to be seen for three hours or longer: wind speeds of 35 mph or more and considerable falling and/or blowing of snow with visibility near zero (less than ¼ mile), the weather service said.

In Washington, the snow was falling at a rate of 2 inches per hour, said CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

Winds intensified in the Washington area, forcing snow plows to park temporarily by the side of the road, Jeras said.

The snowfall is affecting people farther north than last weekend's storm, Jeras said.

And other states are sharing in the travails: Jeras said the weather service reports that 47 states have snow on the ground.

The winter storm barreled in from the Midwest and moved eastward into Washington on Tuesday night and then on toward New York.

This winter is the snowiest on record for several cities or airports, eclipsing records set in the winter of 1995-1996, the weather service said.

Baltimore broke its record of 62.5 inches of snow with a new total of 64.4 inches. Washington's Dulles International Airport shattered its record of 61.9 inches of snowfall with 65.7 inches, and Wilmington, Delaware, has had 59.5 inches of snow, compared with its previous record of 55.9 inches.

And this winter is on pace to become the snowiest season on record in Atlantic City and Philadelphia, the weather service said.

Thousands of flights Wednesday were delayed or canceled to and from airports in Washington, Baltimore, Boston, New York and Philadelphia.

No flights will operate at Reagan Washington National or Dulles on Wednesday, according to the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority.

Dulles may reopen as early as 6 a.m. ET Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

New York metro area airports were operational Wednesday afternoon, but airlines canceled most flights in and out of the region. Operations will continue for as long as crews can keep the runways clear, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Travelers were asked to check their flight status online before leaving for airports.

Due to improved weather conditions in the Chicago, Illinois, area, airlines were reporting no delays at O'Hare and Midway international airports. However, airlines continued to cancel flights at both airports as the storm moved east and affected airports there.

Newark Liberty International Airport and the New Jersey Turnpike remained open, authorities said.

Amtrak was offering limited service between Boston, New York and Washington. Bus service also has been suspended in parts of the Northeast.

If the snowfall continues as predicted, Philadelphia could break its record of 65.5 inches, set in late winter 1995, forecasters said. It has already received more than 56 inches.

Philadelphia hardware store owner Troy Usnik was taking somewhat of a breather Wednesday. The owner of 10th St. Hardware said he sold well more than 100 shovels and 200 to 300 bags of salt the day before.

"Today seems kind of quiet, but there was a mad rush yesterday. Sales were brisk. Last night was a panic, and everyone who didn't have it came out to buy shovels and salt," he said.

Early Wednesday, the snow turned to sleet in Philadelphia, but roads were passable and buses were driving along emergency routes, Usnik said.

More snow was in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service, which predicted 9 inches to 13 inches.

In New York, CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano said the city had deployed 1,600 salt spreaders to care for 65 miles of roads. It was snowing at midday but tapering off.

In Atlantic City, the snow changed into rain early Wednesday. Despite the storm, the landmark Boardwalk -- with its shops, restaurants and casinos -- remained open.















East Coast Storm Grounds Thousands Of Flights


A blizzard has halted operations at some airports in the Northeast, and thousands of flights have been canceled.

No flights will operate at Reagan Washington National or Dulles International airports on Wednesday, according to the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority.

Travelers are urged to check with their airlines for flight status updates and rebooking policies.

Crews at the Washington airports continue to work on clearing runways.

"We're working, and we're plowing as best we can and then once the winds diminish some, we'll be able to start hauling snow off the airfield as we've been doing for six days now," said spokeswoman Tara Hamilton.

Traveler Demond Vaughan was supposed to fly from New York to Atlanta, Georgia, Wednesday morning, but his flight was canceled.

"Right now, I'm upset. Our plans were to go to a wedding, a Valentine's wedding. ... If we don't go today, the lady said we won't have another flight until Monday. That's going to be terrible for us," Vaughan said.

New York metro area airports were operational Wednesday afternoon, but airlines canceled most flights in and out of LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International and John F. Kennedy International airports.

Operations will continue for as long as crews can keep the runways clear, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Most airlines canceled Wednesday flights in and out of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to the airport's Web site. Some airlines have canceled flights through Thursday morning.

Delta Air Lines has temporarily ceased flights in and out of Washington, Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the majority of flights are canceled in and out of New York and Boston, Massachusetts, Delta spokesman Anthony Black said. The airline has canceled 900 Wednesday flights.

United Airlines canceled about 600 Wednesday flights, according to spokeswoman Sarah Massier. More than 1,000 flights on US Airways and its affiliate US Airways Express have been canceled, according to the airline.

Continental Airlines canceled 850 flights Wednesday, including all flights at the airline's Newark hub, according airline spokesperson Macky Osorio.

American Airlines and American Eagle canceled about 500 flights Wednesday, according to spokesman Tim Smith. The airline's operations in the Washington area have been suspended through noon ET Thursday. American's operations in Philadelphia have ground to a halt and are expected to resume Thursday morning.


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Sources: CNN, Google Maps

"Snowmaggedon" Leaves More Than 300,000 Without Power

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Hundreds Of Thousands Without Power After Eastern Snowstorm


Air traffic in Washington picked up after a day of cancellations, but hundreds of thousands along the Eastern seaboard remained without power after a major snowstorm wound down.

More than 300,000 people from Pennsylvania to Virginia were without electricity Sunday morning, utility companies reported. The blizzard -- referred to as "snowmageddon" by President Obama -- brought down power lines across the region, and accumulated snow continued to cause outages.

"Since the heavy, wet snow is still bringing trees down, we are still seeing new outages occur," Allegheny Power said in a statement Sunday. "Damage assessment is ongoing, but overall estimated times for the restoration of service have not been determined."

The utility company provides electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. Nearly 135,000 of its customers had no power, the majority of them, or 92,295, reside in Pennsylvania, the company said.

More than 19,000 residents in Delaware were without power Sunday afternoon, utility companies there said. About 26.5 inches of snow fell in Wilmington, the National Weather Service said.

In New Jersey, 48,572 Atlantic City Electric customers had no electricity, the company said; 19.3 inches of snow fell in Atlantic City.

More than 117,000 people in Virginia, Washington and Maryland were without power, according to utility companies in those states.

CNN iReporter Sean Conrad was left with intermittent power after the storm. Photos of the whiteout in his Rockville, Maryland, neighborhood, show snow that blanketed the streets. Roads were recognizable only by snow-lined traffic lights that hung above.

"The streets were completely empty, with the exception of one or two people, including myself," he said. "It was extremely peaceful to be lying in the middle of streets taking pictures that are normally covered with people or buses passing by."

Rockville's snow tally was 25.5 inches, the weather service reported.

Southern Pennsylvania's Ridley Park reported 30 inches of snowfall Saturday afternoon, and the Philadelphia International Airport racked up 28.5 inches, the National Weather Service said, citing unofficial tallies. The airport was closed Saturday, but reopened Sunday and expected to operate at 60 percent capacity, spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said.

Record-breaking snowfall covered the Washington area, the weather service said. Over two days, 32.4 inches of snow dropped on Dulles International Airport, breaking a January 1996 record of 23.2 inches.

The quick-falling flakes forced Dulles to cancel all flights Saturday. Flights were also canceled at the other two main Washington-Baltimore area airports.

With the snow behind it, Dulles reopened Sunday to limited service, according to Rob Yingling, spokesman for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. A United Airlines flight that landed at 7:15 a.m. was the first to land at Dulles, he told CNN.

Airport personnel were still removing snow from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Sunday, and when flights would resume remained uncertain, spokesman Jonathan Dean told CNN.

Reagan National Airport still was closed early Sunday afternoon as crews plowed snow and chipped away at 5 inches of ice that developed overnight, Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority spokeswoman Tara Hamilton said. The airport normally accommodates just under 700 flights a day, she said.

Amtrak canceled several trains Sunday after downed trees and power lines fell onto portions of its tracks, the transit company said. Dozens of Greyhound routes in the mid-Atlantic states were also canceled, the bus company said on its Web site. State officials have advised drivers to stay off the slick roads.

The storm caused two fatalities Friday, when a father and son died in a car accident in Virginia's Wythe County, state police said. Virginia state police said the accident was one of 1,700 weather-related crashes. At least 140 of the crashes resulted in injury, police said Sunday.

In addition to car wrecks during the storm, collapsing roofs also became a worry. In Washington, the roof of Joshua's Temple First Born Church collapsed Saturday because of snow, although officials said no one was injured. It was one of a couple of similar incidents, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said Saturday. The walls of the church had buckled as well, and authorities trudged through the knee-deep snow to put up police tape around the area.


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Sources: MSNBC, CNN, Google Maps

How Long Will Mid-Atlantic Blizzard Last? Flights Cancelled

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Powerful Blizzard Paralyzes Mid-Atlantic States


Mid-Atlantic residents were buried Saturday from a likely record-setting blizzard the president jokingly dubbed “Snowmageddon,” and those brave enough tried to clear a path through the wet, heavy mounds of thigh-high snow.

The snow was falling too quickly in the nation’s capital for crews to keep up, and officials begged residents to stay home and out of the way so that roads might be cleared in time for everyone to return to work Monday. The usually traffic-snarled roads were mostly barren, and Washington’s familiar sites and monuments were covered with nearly 2 feet of snow.

Tihana and Jarrett Blanc had given up on digging, instead taking their dog, Hector, for a walk through northwest Washington during what forecasters said could be the biggest storm for the nation’s capital in modern history.

“Our car is stuck. We’re not even trying,” said Tihana, 36.

The storm toppled trees and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers in Washington, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The situation was the same in West Virginia, where some 400 National Guard troops were helping with snow removal.

"I feel like an Archaeologist"

Shoppers picked store shelves clean Friday in anticipation — Tihana Blanc mused it was like people preparing for Armageddon. Nearly two feet of snow had fallen by noon Saturday in cities across the region.

Hundreds of car wrecks were reported across the region, though only two deaths were reported — a father and son who died while helping another motorist in Virginia. By Saturday, most people couldn’t drive anywhere because their cars and roads were buried.

In Ellicott City, Md., Christine Benkoski said she was trying to dig out from at least 2 feet. As she tried to clear her driveway, she said she uncovered how the storm had transitioned from snow, to ice, then back to snow.

“I feel like an archaeologist,” Benkoski said.

“I’ve been out here for an hour, and my only goal is to get to the street.”

Presidential Snowplow

And President Barack Obama, a snow veteran from his days in Chicago, didn’t have a smooth day. He walked out of the White House midmorning to find the South Lawn, his backyard, looking nearly like an untouched wilderness. Instead of the familiar scenes of manicured lawns and clipped hedges, snow had piled on every shrub and the backyard was almost colorless.

First, there was a small fender bender on the White House south lawn. Then a tree branch, overcome with snow, cracked and fell on a motorcade vehicle with press inside when the president was coming back from a speech at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting in town.

Instead of a presidential limo, Obama rode in a black SUV covered with presidential seals.

Obama thanked Democrats for “willing to brave a blizzard, Snowmageddon.”

Noting the president’s hometown, DNC chairman Tim Kaine said “It’s like an April day in Chicago.”

After all that, the White House announced Obama would have no more outings for the day.

Meanwhile, Shawn Punga and his wife, Kristine, were making plans to move to a hotel if the power was not restored to their house in Silver Spring, Md. They were concerned for their 2-year-old daughter, Ryder, who was bundled up in thick pink pajamas and slippers.

“I have just been watching the thermostat. If it hits 60, that’s when we’re going to pack up,” he said.

Travel Troubles

Airlines canceled flights, churches called off weekend services, and Amtrak and commuter trains ground to a halt. Some people wondered if they would be stuck at home for several days.

At Dulles International Airport, part of a hangar roof collapsed and damaged some of the private jets housed inside, though no one was hurt, said Courtney Mickalonis, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Snow crews worked overnight, but “it’s coming down faster than we can keep up with it,” she said.

The snow comes less than two months after a Dec. 19 storm dumped more than 16 inches on Washington. Snowfalls of this magnitude — let alone two in one season — are rare in the area. According to the National Weather Service, Washington has gotten more than a foot of snow only 13 times since 1870.

The heaviest on record was 28 inches in January 1922. The biggest snowfall for the Washington-Baltimore area is believed to have been in 1772, before official records were kept, when as much as 3 feet fell, which George Washington and Thomas Jefferson penned in their diaries.

Despite the onslaught, some embraced the chance for a little peace and quiet. Carolyn Matuska was loving her morning run along Washington’s National Mall.

“Oh, it’s spectacular out,” she said. “It’s so beautiful. The temperature’s perfect, it’s quiet, there’s nobody out, it’s a beautiful day.”


Sources: MSNBC

Historic Snowstorm Barrels Toward Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern States

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Historic Storm To Paralyze The Mid-Atlantic


Look for significant snow from Indiana to Pennsylvania but parts of the Middle Atlantic region could be in for a historic snow event.

Heavy 2-to-locally-4-inch rain stretching from northern Florida into Tidewater Virginia will result in spotty flooding.

In the end, the focus of this storm will be in the Mid-Atlantic States. Snow will stretch from eastern Pennsylvania to southern New Jersey. Snow will continue to expand northward to New York City by Saturday morning.

Heavy snow will dominate Saturday before winding down from west to east by evening. Air, rail and interstate travel will likely come to a halt. Heavy snow on awnings and rooftops may create damage.

Snowfall totals over northern of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and southern Pennsylvania and southwen New Jersey will tally well over a foot. Some places across northern Virginia, eastern Maryland and Delaware may be buried with between 2 and 3 feet of snow. The storm may reach the top 3 of all-time in the Washington, D.C., area and may rival the record of 28" from the "Knickerbocker" storm of 1922. Philadelphia may see over 18" of snow in the area. A 2-to-4-inch snow is possible for New York City on the storm's northern fringe.

As the low pushes off the coast, it will strengthen quickly and produce very strong winds, especially along the Mid-Atlantic coast. Gusts between 45 and 50 mph are possible from southern New Jersey to the Norfolk area overnight and Saturday morning creating blizzard conditions at times.

Blizzard warnings are in effect from coastal Delaware and New Jersey back to the Baltimore/Washington area.

Winter storm warnings are in effect westward into Indiana. A general area of 6 to locally-12-inch snowfall could fall from central Indiana into southwestern Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh.


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Sources: The Weather Channel, MSNBC, Google Maps

Brutal Weekend Winter Storm On The Way

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Sources: MSNBC